This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:13] David Alpert: Welcome to E Ticket to Broadway, where Broadway meets Main Street.

[0:19] David Alpert: Here's your host, my pal, David Alpert.

[0:25] David Alpert: Hi everyone. Thanks for choosing to listen to E Ticket to Broadway, the only podcast to ask the tough questions. Like, should one sing Turkey Lurkey Time while in line for a turkey leg at a Disney park? The answer is of course, yes. I want to once again thank the incredible listeners for their support for this podcast. All of the messages, the reviews, and support on Patreon all help to keep more episodes coming. If you look forward to these episodes, please consider becoming a Patreon. It truly helps yours truly. There are many levels of giving, and if you become a fancy e-ticket supporter, like the awesome Foy family from Indiana, you get your own interview on an episode. So welcome, Foy family to the E Ticket to Broadway podcast. Are you excited to talk briefly about Disney?

[1:12] Foy Family: We are very excited.

[1:14] Foy Family: Yes, thanks for having us.

[1:17] David Alpert: I know, right? And so what you're all not seeing, because this is a podcast, is a lot of very friendly faces, uh, all loving Disney. This is the first time we've had a family come together on the podcast. This is really exciting. So here's a question, I guess for the parents, right? For Jeff and Jackie. Did you both grow up going to the parks as a kid?

[1:37] Jeff: Uh actually, no. The first time I went was on a high school field trip when I was a senior in high school, and then uh I loved it, but didn't have an opportunity to go back for many years, and then we just started going. Uh, I think when the kids were little and loved it.

[1:53] Jackie: Yeah, same. I went once or twice, I think, with my parents growing up, and um, we loved it, but it just wasn't feasible at that time to continue to go again and again and again. It was a long trek from Ohio, so I think we made two trips. Um as a child, I made two trips there.

[2:11] David Alpert: And was there a moment early on in your marriage where you were like, I think we should go back to Disney. I think we should do this.

[2:20] Jackie: I don't know. And um we talked about getting married there, and now we're like, why didn't we get married there? It would be so odd.

[2:27] Jeff: If we did, yeah.

[2:28] Jackie: I think it I think pretty early on we were hooked. You can renew your vows there.

[2:33] Jeff: That's I know we've actually talked about that maybe like on the cruise or something or in the parks, or we don't know.

[2:40] Jackie: For sure. So did you go to the parks together before you started having kids?

[2:45] Jeff: Um, I don't think we did. I think we only went with kids.

[2:50] David Alpert: And was there a moment, Jacob, who's on the call with us, your oldest who's in college at Indiana University, was there a fear of like, what if one of our kids doesn't like Disney? What do we do?

[3:00] Jacob: Um, you know, we kind of all grew to love it together, I would say. Um, because we really hadn't experienced it until we went together and we just kind of fell in love with it all as a family and we all had things we were looking forward to. And so I I don't think that was a concern because we didn't know how much we were gonna ultimately love going.

[3:22] Jackie: I know you did make the kids get on coasters very young because Jack's biggest fear was we can't have a kid that does not like coasters.

[3:29] Jeff: That is true. We're six, so we we match up two, two, two, like we're we're an even number, and so he was like, Everybody has to ride. So as soon as they were tall enough, they were getting on whatever ride they could.

[3:41] Jackie: That is true. Jacob, as the oldest kid, did you ever feel like you wanted to go on some of the quote unquote big kid rides sooner, or was that not even an issue, knowing that the Foy's were putting their kids in roller coasters at an early age?

[3:53] Jacob: Um that was never really an issue because dad has always that dad and mom both actually have both made a really good effort to make sure that we all get special time with them when we're in Disney. So, like sometimes mom would take the little the three little ones and go on a a smaller kid ride that they could get on, and dad and I would go wait in line for a big one and then maybe do parent swap so that I could ride with mom. So there was always um a level of me being able to enjoy Disney at every at every level at every age.

[4:23] David Alpert: Yeah, that's nice. And and again, like Disney is so great for families, and it's really nice that you've all figured out a way to navigate that. Was there ever a moment when you all realize that Disney trips were your thing? Like that that's our thing. This is what we love. Was there a moment that you kind of clicked?

[4:41] Jeff: Uh it's sort of been an evolution, but yeah, we we sort of like, okay, when are we going next? Like we would be literally booking our next trip from when we were there. Like, okay, when can we when can we possibly go again? And and I don't know if there was an aha moment as much as it was a well that's where we're gonna go. We didn't we didn't talk about where should we go? It's like when are we going to go?

[5:02] David Alpert: Right. Do you ever enjoy like camping or beach trips, or is it all let's go to Disney World? What do you think, guys?

[5:10] Miley: Um, I think we do enjoy those things, but I feel like if we had the option to choose, we would definitely choose uh Disney over those things.

[5:19] Macy: Yeah, I think I think we all really do enjoy camping. We go camping like usually every year except for this year, but we really do like camping, although I think majority of our trips are um just Disney other than the annual camping trip we take.

[5:35] Brady: Yeah. We always every year, like Macy said, except for this year, we go camping with our grandparents, and we probably would pick Disney if we had to choose.

[5:45] David Alpert: But on the camping trips, are you wearing like Mickey Mouse clothes? You're singing Disney songs?

[5:49] Miley: Yeah, of course.

[5:51] Macy: I was gonna say that we go camping with my parents who are huge Disney fans who really amped up their passion since they go with us on the majority of our trips. And so we spend most of those camping trips planning our Disney trips. Both we and her parents are annual pass holders from Ohio and Indiana. So we we try to make a point to go. It's all part of the family.

[6:17] David Alpert: Yeah. So Jacob, now that you're in college, do you ever find like the Disney, you know, are you finding friends that are like also Disney kids?

[6:26] Jacob: Oh my gosh, yes. I have a fun little thing about that. Last time we went on a cruise, um, I had never seen it before, but they had a little group for kids that were 18 to 20. So we couldn't hang out in the four to 14 to 17 group, and we also couldn't hang out with a 21-year-old. So they called it the 1820 club. And that last cruise, I spent so much time with those kids, and we had so much fun. And I like literally was talking to two of them today. And this cruise was almost two years ago. So meeting other people that that are my age that also love Disney is a really good solid foundation for a friendship, and it's been really cool.

[7:02] Jackie: It really is. And and uh, you know, I think for many of us that were like, is it okay to like Disney so much? Is it okay to like the theme parks? Is it okay to go to the theme parks more than twice a year? The answer is yes. And and hopefully we are we're turning that tide to really make sure that everyone understands like it is a really great fun place. I think that's what makes us want to go there again and again is that it's hard with the different ages of the kids to find a vacation that everyone likes, and it's the one place where everybody has something they can do.

[7:34] Jeff: Now, for Jake, when he was like 13, it might have just been all about the snacks, and that was okay, but you know, everybody had something that they really liked at each age, and it's a way for us to vacation and sort of make everybody happy.

[7:46] Jackie: I also love that the little kids are seeing Jake love Disney, so it kind of makes it okay that they love these things that some might think are like a younger theme, but they're pretty solid and confident in their love for all things Disney, and I love that.

[8:01] David Alpert: For sure. And you know, I hope that everyone finds a passion, no matter what it is, whether it's Disney or Universal Studios, whatever it may be, but just to feel free that they can love their, you know, love a passion. I think that's really great. So because there's so many wonderful people on this call, we're not gonna play a game, but I do want to rapid fire go through, and this is what I want you to all to answer. I want to know what your favorite ride in the parks is and what your favorite Disney character is.

[8:27] David Alpert: Okay. So I'm gonna shout a name and I need you to shout out your favorite Disney character. Are you ready?

[8:34] Foy Family: Ready?

[8:34] David Alpert: Okay, ready? Here we go, Foy family. Jackie, Mickey, Jeff, Mickey, Miley, Minnie, Macy, Belle, Brady, Mickey, Jacob, Goofy.

[8:50] David Alpert: Okay, let's pause. How many of you answered one of the fab? I think you were all kind of fab five. I heard a Belle. So who loves Mickey?

[8:58] Foy Family: Oh.

[8:59] David Alpert: Like everyone. And and we had a Minnie. So we're like classic Disney. I love that. Three Mickeys, a Minnie, a Goofy, and a Belle. We actually spent some of our time at home the past few months going back and watching some of those Disney classics that you know. My kids, my younger kids started when Frozen was popular, and they kind of skipped over some of those classics, and I don't think they really understand some of the ride.

[9:23] Jackie: So we we got to it this the past few months, and we're spending our evenings watching some of those older movies that maybe they have seen.

[9:31] David Alpert: That's cool. It's good. Like homeschool is like Disney Plus as part of the curriculum.

[9:35] Miley: Oh yeah, we ordered Disney Plus. And and every night someone would take a turn choosing a different movie that we were gonna watch the next day.

[9:42] Jackie: And there may have may or may not have been a big brand announcement each time. Um but uh um so then we would they would pick and then we'd all watch that the next day, and then we'd pick that day and then choose the next day. So it was fun.

[9:54] David Alpert: I love that. Okay, second round favorite ride at a Disney Parks. Are we ready?

[9:58] Foy Family: Yeah, okay.

[9:59] David Alpert: Macy, um, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Miley, Soarin', Jacob, Flight of Passage, Brady, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Jeff, It's a Small World, Jackie, Haunted Mansion.

[10:18] David Alpert: Okay, interesting, very interesting. We've got some classics, we've got some new ones. Is there a ride that you all feel that you love together? Like you always have to go on it together each trip. What's that ride?

[10:26] Foy Family: Pandora.

[10:29] Foy Family: Teacups and It's a Small World, Teacups, Peacups.

[10:35] David Alpert: That's amazing. Yeah. We always try to get on Avatar Flight of Passage as much as we can.

[10:42] Foy Family: And Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.

[10:44] Foy Family: That's another always do. Our family go on everything as a family.

[10:48] Foy Family: Yeah, our family also likes to um try to get the fastest on the teacups, so it's usually um dad and some kids and then Jacob and kids.

[10:59] David Alpert: I love that. And you like your forearms are just so sore afterwards from spinning those.

[11:06] Foy Family: Yeah.

[11:06] Foy Family: And the grandparents are usually the judge because they don't go on it, and so we try to see who won the fastest spinning.

[11:14] David Alpert: We're not competitive at all.

[11:15] Foy Family: Right.

[11:15] David Alpert: Yeah, exactly. So have we done any international parks yet, or that's on the agenda?

[11:22] Jeff: Not yet. We have only done California.

[11:25] Jackie: We've not done anything outside of California or Florida.

[11:29] Jeff: We did Aulani.

[11:30] Jackie: I know that's not a park, but we did go to Aulani.

[11:34] David Alpert: Yeah. That's really exciting. I love that that across the board you are a very strong Disney family. Which is really great. Well, thank you all for your time and thank you again for helping Gillana's fund any tickets to Broadway. I really appreciate it. And uh I can't wait to go to Disney World at some point with the Foy family.

[11:53] Foy Family: Yes, absolutely.

[11:55] David Alpert: So fun. Awesome. We'll go on Flight of Passage, we'll scream on the teacups. It'll be really fun. At E Ticket to Broadway, it's all about spreading Disney magic and making the world a better place. A portion of all money raised goes directly to Gillana's fund. Check out www.ETicketPodcast.com to learn more.

[12:14] David Alpert: On this episode, I have the great privilege of interviewing a fellow Broadway boy from my hometown of Muskegon, Michigan. He has been seen on Broadway in the original companies of The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Civil War, La Bohème, and of course, Rent. Put on your mouse ears and get ready for Gilles Chiasson.

[12:41] David Alpert: Gilles, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. We are two Muskegon boys chatting about Disney Parks. How excited are you on a scale from one to a thousand?

[12:46] Gilles Chiasson: A thousand.

[12:51] David Alpert: Yeah, that's what happens in Muskegon. We just sit around looking at Lake Michigan and think about Mickey Mouse.

[12:57] Gilles Chiasson: That's it.

[12:58] David Alpert: Right?

[12:59] Gilles Chiasson: That's it. Um Gilles, you shared with me online that you went to Disney World when you were twelve. Was that your first time there?

[13:08] Gilles Chiasson: Yes, that was uh on a family vacation. I think I've been trying to text with my mom and my sister to try and scroll it all out, and they have been of absolutely no use to me in this research. Um so I actually think it turns out I think I went twice.

[13:26] David Alpert: Okay.

[13:27] Gilles Chiasson: Um as a kid, because my grandfather from who lived in Ottawa ended up getting a condo in Florida. So we visited him twice. We did go to Disney World twice as a kid. But never out west.

[13:38] David Alpert: You just went south from Michigan.

[13:39] Gilles Chiasson: No, the first time I went to Disneyland, I was on tour with Forever Plaid, which uh, you know, it played all the major cities in sit down. So when they put out their first national tour, it was literally like a school bus playing gyms in Alabama. And we spent six weeks in LA playing like Lancaster or Glendale. So we had all these days free. So one of my days while I was like staying in a Days Inn outside of LA, I went to Disneyland one day by myself. So that was my first time at Disneyland.

[14:07] David Alpert: We have to come back to that idea of going to Disneyland by yourself, but when you were going there as a kid, do you have any memories of what that was like for you?

[14:18] Gilles Chiasson: I do have a memory of waiting in line with my friend Chris Carlston, also from Muskegon. Uh and we were with, I think my sister Renee brought Chris's sister Amy Carlson, because they were in the same grade. I think this is when I was around twelve. And we were waiting in line. It was dark. We were waiting for the Haunted Mansion, and uh Christopher and I were singing some crazy song, and because our sisters were in like just starting high school, they were completely mortified and freaked out. And because Chris and I were young enough to not be smart enough to keep our mouths shut, we took that hour and a half of waiting in line to torture them in front of at least a hundred strangers.

[15:05] David Alpert: And it couldn't get dark enough fast enough for them.

[15:08] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah.

[15:09] David Alpert: Drew, were you singing Disney songs at least, or just not at all?

[15:13] Gilles Chiasson: I don't remember. I think it was um more along the lines of like, you know, as racy a parody as you could come up with when you're twelve in the, you know, in the seventies.

[15:25] David Alpert: Was it the seventies that I was twelve? I don't know. That is a bold choice though, to be singing with a friend in the Haunted Mansion queue. Like of all the rides, everyone's to get like into that place and you're just yeah, just torturing them with whatever we were singing. I don't remember.

[15:40] Gilles Chiasson: As a kid, did you enjoy the theatricality of the parks? Did it start to kind of open your mind to like I think I like, you know, magic and performing?

[15:51] Gilles Chiasson: I did, but you know, my theme park experience, I was raised more in like um Cedar Point. Remember did you ever go to Cedar Point in Ohio?

[16:01] David Alpert: Well Michigan's Adventure.

[16:03] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah. Well I never went to Michigan's Adventure.

[16:06] David Alpert: Really?

[16:06] Gilles Chiasson: In our hometown? I it didn't really exist when I was there. So the shows were my sort of theme park experience was more along the lines of um going on the rides and the roller coasters and less about the shows. And when I went as a kid with my family they were more they were less about the shows and more about the what you know waiting in line for the Blue Streak I think it was called who knows it's a long time ago but uh but um the performance piece of it I didn't really get into until I was older. Like when I went by myself older I went and saw the shows and went to see what people were doing and you know I was really curious about it.

[16:49] David Alpert: When you were a kid did you have any favorite rides at Disney?

[16:51] Gilles Chiasson: I loved um I loved It's a Small World as a kid which you know I don't and then Pirates of the Caribbean I totally dug and Space Mountain.

[17:07] David Alpert: Yeah those are great rides till around yeah I remember going by myself to Space Mountain and I had a funny experience in the line.

[17:14] Gilles Chiasson: Well let's talk about that. So you're because I had only for as much as I love the Disney parks only once have I ever gone by myself because a friend showed me up and I was like I'm gonna give it a shot let me see for me it was not enjoyable. I learned that with Disney I really want to experience with someone else but talk to me about when you're on tour with Forever Plaid and you go to Disneyland by yourself. What it talk to me through that day and and any stories that came up?

[17:39] Gilles Chiasson: Well, so first of all, when I went by myself, I was a total cynic. And I went as a non-believer to sort of see what it was. And uh so the funny thing that happened live for Space Mountain that was the that I did learn something from was uh there was a mom who was there with her son on a school day, and the kid was probably 10 or 11, and she was like giving her son like a lecture waiting in line for Space Mountain about you know, Disney was a white supremacist and all the bad things you could say about Walt Disney and all these terrible things about the park. And the kid was like, oh mom, just be quiet at Space Mountain.

[18:21] David Alpert: Yeah.

[18:22] Gilles Chiasson: And it was so interesting to see my cynicism playing itself out with this woman who, like, despite all her best efforts, her son was madly in love with the park and totally jazzed to be there. And at the end of the day, I I left that line having ridden Space Mountain totally on the kids' team and not on the mom's team. And I it was very illustrative to me about what value there was in looking at what was happening and not seeing all the great things about it.

[18:56] David Alpert: Right.

[18:56] Gilles Chiasson: There's magic.

[18:57] David Alpert: Yeah.

[18:58] Gilles Chiasson: It is magic.

[19:13] David Alpert: When you brought your kids for the first time, did they, you know, enjoy that magic and you allowed them to, or did you kind of, you know.

[19:21] Gilles Chiasson: You know what it is, is that so I'm I'm good friends with Gary Marsh, who is the um president and chief creative officer of Disney Channel Worldwide. And Gary has a daughter, Zoe, who is was born in the same hospital a day before or after my oldest son Hugo. So we knew them in like prenatal classes at the same hospital, and then we you know, when you have a when your wife has a baby and you have to walk the halls after you have surgery, and we would do a lot of laps around an attorney ward, and then uh Jody and Sherry did a mommy and me class together. So we've known them a long time. Barry worked for Disney, but they used to take a lot of vacations at Disney. They would go to Disney World and cruises and stuff, and I totally didn't understand it. And Gary said to me, he says, You just have to walk through the gates of the park and look at your child to understand exactly what it's all about.

[20:19] Gilles Chiasson: And I took his advice as I always do. Gary's a very, very smart person. And when I finally went with Hugo and Bo, and I saw their experience walking through those gates into Disney, I was like, Well, there it is. That that is the undeniable, that's the magic that you could refer to. And seeing it in them and seeing it to a large extent through them, that was the it was just undeniable how beautiful it was.

[20:48] David Alpert: You could have had that experience if you would have gone with me as well.

[20:53] Gilles Chiasson: Great.

[20:53] David Alpert: I kind of just walked in like, wow, this kid from my hometown really likes Disneyland.

[20:58] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah, but I heard some people do.

[21:00] David Alpert: There are totally tons of people who do. We're friends with a family down in Orange County, a guy named Kevin Waldron, who Sherry went to grad school with at the ART in Cambridge. And um Kevin's older brother worked at Disney for years and years and years when he was like in high school, and uh Kevin has another brother who is differently abled and loves the parks, and going with Pete to the park is like a holiday on steroids. Because Pete is a guy who is he embraces the joy in everything. He loves to sing, he just he loves everything. And you take him to the park, and then it's like everything there is like jacked up, and so his joy commensurately is jacked up, and you go with him, and it's like you have the best time in the world no matter what, because Pete is so infectious. And again, experiencing it through uh Pete through my kids is the total antidote for a cynic like me.

[22:00] David Alpert: I love that you were open-minded enough to you know change your mind and and see like why does everyone it it's a bold choice. Like I'm a cynic, I'm gonna pay a very expensive ticket and go by myself on my day off. But you had that experience, and I think that's I a lot of friends that I have brought as well, same thing. They're like, Why do you like it so much? It's like, let me just show you, let me show you my version of it, and it it's really nice.

[22:24] Gilles Chiasson: You know, the other thing is is that it's really easy to stand outside something and criticize it.

[22:32] David Alpert: Right.

[22:32] Gilles Chiasson: You know, you're a director, you understand what that experience is of being outside a play, as opposed to being the director who has an emotional stake in the play.

[22:41] David Alpert: Right.

[22:42] Gilles Chiasson: And, you know, there are times in my life where I thought, you know, like Walmart is closing down all the stores across America, and a friend of mine said, Well, you have to go inside. You can't criticize from outside, you have to go and see what it is. And then you go and you see what it is, and you realize that nothing is as concrete or black and white once you get inside. And Disney was the same. Like I had to go in there and see what it was and realize that no matter what my cynicism say, once you go inside, there are so many parts of it that bring joy. Again, it's the antidote.

[23:16] David Alpert: I wish there was like a video of you leaving the parks with like mouse ears and bags of souvenirs, like skipping. You're like, I love it so much.

[23:22] Gilles Chiasson: I do have some pictures. We're having an IT crisis at my house because you know how you have like the computer that holds all your pictures. We have this computer that's been here for a while, and it's filled with all these pictures, and it got a little too full. So I've managed to boot it up this morning, but it's moving very slowly. So I do have I have pictures of that moment. I have the like the fat ears, all of it.

[23:59] David Alpert: When you brought your kids for the first time, do you remember anything specific from what they enjoyed, what you did together, any of those specific memories?

[24:09] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah, so my sons are are very different. Like Hugo, the older one is very thoughtful and very sort of sees everything. He always has. So that would play out with the characters in a huge way.

[24:29] Gilles Chiasson: So like we would see, you know, Goofy, and Hugo would be like hanging back. I'm not sure. This is when he's like three and four years old. Like, I'm not sure. I have to really think about this. And Bo is like grabbing by the hand and like jamming through the people to Goofy to get the picture. So it's the that I have that very specific memory of them. You know, when you have kids, you very quickly realize that they are who they are, and your job is just to you know screw them up as little as possible. So I saw in those moments like who they were, how their different approaches lend themselves to the things they do and who they are as people. But that was very clear. Goofy was really clear with Brills on this.

It's like a personality test. How would you respond to Goofy? It's true, it's very true. And you know, when you're young, the characters can be can be frightening or they can be engaging, that's all. Everyone's different. Yeah. I definitely had that middle approach where I was excited to see them, but I was also a little frightened. I remember once I hugged Dopey and the plastic of his face. I was like, something's weird. I'm a little uncomfortable, but it's also Dopey, so I'm into it, but it was bizarre. You know, my first job out of high school, I worked at a park and I ended up dating a costume character for a while while I was at the park. So I remember what the costume was. It was it was at Action Park, so the costume was like a dog, it wasn't a Disney, it wasn't a defined, they had like a dog, and they had a giraffe or whoever they had.

But I think she was a big sort of labrador-ish costume character kind of dog. But she told all the sort of crazy stories about what people would do. So when I see the costume characters, I just feel compassion. I like I'm like, we have to give them water. They need to go step into the shade. Like, what can we do to help them? Do Goofy, do you need to sit down? Totally brings out the codependent in me without fail whenever I see a costume character. Even if it's a villain, you just want to help them somewhat. It does not matter because under that villain is like a sweaty 22-year-old.

[26:42] David Alpert: Speaking of going to the parks with your kids, you shared with me a very special moment during the Main Street Electrical Parade.

[26:49] Gilles Chiasson: Yes. While you were watching it's it's a beautiful moment. I think I saw it in a Disney commercial. It was just so romantic and passionate and family friendly. Can you share with us what happened? Oh, just that um so we went with uh Hugo's godfather, Kevin, who I mentioned earlier, and Kevin's boyfriend. I don't know if they're not married, but they live together, they bought a house together, they're partners ever since. But anyway, so we went with Kevin and Todd. I think Pete and Hugo was really young, and you know, the food is everywhere. It's like a funnel cake extravaganza. And so anyway, we were we got to the end of a long day, and I had Hugo on my shoulders to watch the electric light parade.

I think that's what's called the electric light. The Main Street Electrical Parade, yeah. There it is, yeah. Thank you. Keeping me on track. But I know. Yeah. So um, so Hugo's on my shoulders and we're watching the thing, and you know, they stop and they dance, and again the codependent in me. I'm like, how can they dance on the con the cement, the concrete? How are their shins handling this? So I'm watching the thing, and Hugo's digging it, and then Hugo starts to feel sick, but it's so it's loud and I don't hear him. And so he ends up throwing up on my head. Right on my head. And uh, so the pictures that we talked about where I'm like wearing the Disney ears and skipping out of the park was literally right after pretty much after Hugo threw up on my head.

We took a little time to get cleaned up. It was getting dark. It was time to head home in California. There's that sort of long walk once you get out of the park, you take the shuttle. So um yes, Hugo threw up on my head, and he was Hugo's always been a kid, but when he was young, he threw up a lot. So it wasn't a total surprise. But I did not see it coming.

[28:37] David Alpert: Yeah, and also like you put him on your shoulders.

[28:40] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah. Well, you know. This kid throws up a lot. That'll be safe. That's what dads mean. Yeah. Take one for the team. I think I think I've only been sick once at the parks, but usually I would just like, you know, chin up, we gotta go. I did I did make my sister go once when she had a sinus infection because it was like this was the one day we could go in December and we were visiting, and you know, we're not sure if we can go. Aliza's not feeling so great. I was like, Elisa, if you ruin this for me.

[29:14] David Alpert: Well, pseudafed is brutal, it makes you sleepy.

[29:17] Gilles Chiasson: Well, you know what? She should have thought about that before we were planning to go to Disneyland.

[29:24] David Alpert: Oh, we'll be right back.

[29:28] Gilles Chiasson: Oh, that's the boy.

[29:42] David Alpert: Fast Pass on jail.

[29:49] Gilles Chiasson: It's time for fast pass answers. I'm gonna ask you questions after the first question, you'll have 30 seconds to answer as many as you can. You ready for this?

[29:57] Gilles Chiasson: I'm ready.

[29:59] David Alpert: Okay, ready. Who is your favorite Disney character?

[30:05] Gilles Chiasson: Don't luck.

[30:07] David Alpert: Name any song from Rent.

[30:11] Gilles Chiasson: Rent.

[30:12] David Alpert: Favorite Disney Princess.

[30:16] Gilles Chiasson: Uh I don't know their names. The the uh the Mulan.

[30:20] David Alpert: No, that's not it.

[30:21] Gilles Chiasson: Mulan, the Mulan one.

[30:23] David Alpert: Oh sure, Mulan. Name a Disney animal who talks.

[30:26] Gilles Chiasson: Don't buck.

[30:28] David Alpert: Favorite snack in the parks.

[30:32] Gilles Chiasson: Cheese fries.

[30:35] David Alpert: Time.

[30:36] Gilles Chiasson: That was really exciting. I liked the cheese fries.

[30:42] David Alpert: Um Donald Duck.

[30:44] Gilles Chiasson: He made he made Fast Pass Answers twice.

[30:47] David Alpert: Yeah.

[30:48] Gilles Chiasson: Wow. You like Donald?

[30:49] David Alpert: I do like Donald. Can you do a Donald impression?

[30:52] Gilles Chiasson: And no is a totally fine answer.

[30:55] Gilles Chiasson: Um.

[30:56] David Alpert: Because I that was kind of it.

[31:03] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah.

[31:05] Gilles Chiasson: I just feel like I just sound like I need to spit.

[31:10] David Alpert: That was very successful. I think our listeners are very excited by that. But and title song from Rent.

[31:17] Gilles Chiasson: Way to make a bold choice. Well, you want to know the honest truth is I was gonna say will I? And then I thought that was self-aggrandizing, and so then I had to go.

[31:25] David Alpert: No, not at all.

[31:27] Gilles Chiasson: And this is where if I own the rights, I would play a little clip of a certain person singing the original Broadway cast album, but I don't own those rights. But it's a it's wonderful. But Will I is a great song? But I do have to say, Will I was never me. That was just me channeling Jonathan and channeling the people who said those words out loud. It was a totally different acting experience in that moment than I had probably in any other time in my career on stage. All I could do was to stay out of the way and let it move through me. It was so much bigger than I could ever be. Ever, ever, ever.

[32:25] David Alpert: It's time for some tough choices. Let's play Tweedledee or Tweedledum.

[32:32] Gilles Chiasson: Jill, it's time for Tweedledee or Tweedledum. I'm gonna give you two options, and you let me know which one speaks to you. Which one is really just touches your heart? Um so here comes the first one. Tweedledee or Tweedledum, Space Mountain, or It's a Small World.

[32:42] Gilles Chiasson: It's a small world.

[32:49] David Alpert: Okay.

[32:50] Gilles Chiasson: It's a beautiful ride. Great song. Everyone always complains that it's so catchy. It's like, yeah, that's because it's a good song. And they play it a thousand times. And they play it a thousand times in many different languages. And you're trapped.

[33:01] David Alpert: And you're trapped.

[33:03] Gilles Chiasson: You cannot get out, and you're there's a lot of little dolls staring at you.

[33:09] David Alpert: Yes.

[33:10] Gilles Chiasson: And you love it. Great. Okay. Tweedledee or Tweedledum, Peter Pan or Pinocchio.

[33:12] Gilles Chiasson: Peter Pan.

[33:18] David Alpert: Okay.

[33:19] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah, I'm with you. Pinocchio takes some weird turns.

[33:23] David Alpert: It really does.

[33:24] Gilles Chiasson: It does. Like people like kids turn into donkeys. It's it's kind of frightening. Even though I mean Pure Pan is problematic.

[33:30] David Alpert: Yes in many ways, looking at its own way, but come on, everyone wants to fly.

[33:32] Gilles Chiasson: Everyone wants to fly. The Native Americans take a tough job in Peter Pan. Although they do with Native Americans.

[33:48] David Alpert: Like women are more than that.

[33:51] Gilles Chiasson: Wendy may not want to cook and clean for you. Why don't you cook and clean for yourselves? Musical theater is tough.

[33:57] David Alpert: Musical theater can be tough when you get I know delve into the past and think that's more political ends.

[34:03] Gilles Chiasson: You're right, you're right. So speaking of that, tweedledee or tweedledum, Frozen or The Lion King.

[34:10] Gilles Chiasson: Uh I would say Frozen and full disclosure, I've never seen The Lion King.

[34:15] David Alpert: Wow.

[34:16] Gilles Chiasson: And the movie and the musical?

[34:18] David Alpert: Uh oh, I saw the musical, yes.

[34:20] Gilles Chiasson: Oh, you didn't follow it on stage, but I've never seen the movie.

[34:23] David Alpert: And then full disclosure, I only saw Frozen recently on a fleck.

[34:28] Gilles Chiasson: Well, it's because my kids were young, and when they would go to those movies, a lot of times I would be at work. And they would go and I would miss out. Woe is me. I loved it. I really loved it. And uh the God, who was the songwriting team?

[34:47] Gilles Chiasson: Bobby and Kristen Love.

[34:49] David Alpert: Bobby and Kristen.

[34:50] Gilles Chiasson: Kristen was collaborating with my next door neighbor when I lived in New York. So I still very peripherally knew them. They were so lovely. I thought they were the best people in the world. And I was so I remember when Frozen happened and they had all that clean. So it was like, oh, good things happening to good people. Yeah. The the songs from Frozen are super great.

[35:13] David Alpert: Absolutely.

[35:14] Gilles Chiasson: And um and one of the women that sing the songs from Frozen, you know.

[35:19] David Alpert: Yes, I do.

[35:20] Gilles Chiasson: Kristen Bell. I was a dean of Secret Santa.

[35:25] David Alpert: Wow. That's my claim to be with all the young kids. You know, she's you know, she's Jewish.

[35:30] Gilles Chiasson: I do. That might have been offensive. That's I don't know. She she didn't seem offended at the time. Do you remember what you got her for Secret Santa?

[35:39] Gilles Chiasson: I don't. I'm so embarrassed to say. I'm sure it was something banal, like a scarf or something like that.

[35:45] David Alpert: Yeah.

[35:46] Gilles Chiasson: Well, let's bring in our guest, Adina. Welcome to E Tickets at Broadway.

[35:52] David Alpert: Final tweetled the year Tweedledum, La Viva M or Seasons of Love.

[35:58] Gilles Chiasson: Oh, La Vivo M.

[36:01] David Alpert: The opposite of war is in peace.

[36:03] Gilles Chiasson: It's creation.

[36:04] David Alpert: It's creation.

[36:05] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah, that's a beautiful line. Truly, when I got to go on for Mark, since I understood the white guys, I loved that act, the end of Act One. It was so um you know, we were talking about musical theater and like, you know, problematic for women, blah blah blah. Rent was a show that I got to bring my entire political self to work every night. And the epitome of that was doing Mar Bible. And it was so great. I can't begin to say how much fun it was.

[36:42] Gilles Chiasson: And doing the talkbacks when kids would come and being able to talk about what the show was about and what its intentions were and the different communities that it spoke about too.

[36:54] Gilles Chiasson: It was just that I'm the I was the luckiest actor in the world that I got to take my personal beliefs to work with me every day and sing it out loud from the stage.

[37:06] David Alpert: That's cool.

[37:08] David Alpert: I love that.

[37:09] David Alpert: That's I mean, like, that's the cool thing about the arts.

[37:12] David Alpert: We get to you know, work to change the world.

[37:17] Gilles Chiasson: Absolutely.

[37:18] Gilles Chiasson: Rent definitely did that.

[37:19] Gilles Chiasson: Absolutely.

[37:21] Gilles Chiasson: That's the whole point.

[37:36] David Alpert: Okay, Joe. In addition to playing Steve and the waiter, you're known as the man with squeegee in the original cast of Rent.

[37:42] David Alpert: So it is time to play Man with Squeegee Goes Disney.

[37:46] David Alpert: Props are fun, and many Disney characters are also well connected to a prop. So in this game, I'm going to tell you a Disney character, and I need you to tell me what prop they're most connected to. Are you ready?

[37:56] Gilles Chiasson: I'm a little scared, but I'm ready.

[37:58] David Alpert: Yeah. I'm gonna give you a hint. None of the answers are squeegees.

[38:04] Gilles Chiasson: Okay.

[38:04] Gilles Chiasson: What a fun word to say.

[38:05] Gilles Chiasson: Let's say squeegee one more time.

[38:07] Gilles Chiasson: Squeegee.

[38:08] Gilles Chiasson: Squeegee.

[38:09] David Alpert: Okay. Man with squeegee goes Disney number one. This vain pirate who continually seeks revenge on Peter Pan once lost his hand to a smiling crocodile and now holds this where his left hand once was. In fact, this prop is so much of his character, it became part of his name.

[38:30] Gilles Chiasson: The hook.

[38:30] David Alpert: Captain Hook.

[38:31] Gilles Chiasson: The hook!

[38:32] David Alpert: Yes, the hook, you did it.

[38:34] Gilles Chiasson: But he's gonna get harder.

[38:35] David Alpert: Because I totally got that one.

[38:37] Gilles Chiasson: Yes, I uh they do.

[38:39] Gilles Chiasson: They're a little bit.

[38:40] Gilles Chiasson: I'm I'm just assuming I'm gonna fail in this.

[38:42] David Alpert: So in Treasure Planet, and you're like, let's treasure planet?

[38:45] David Alpert: Man with squeegee number two. Try as they might, the king and queen, nor flora, fauna, or merryweather could stop Sleeping Beauty from being weirdly attracted to this prop, and touching it really knocked her out.

[39:00] Gilles Chiasson: The apple.

[39:02] Gilles Chiasson: Didn't she have the eat the poison apple?

[39:05] David Alpert: You know what's funny? That is incorrect, but I'm gonna tell you it's the spinning wheel.

[39:11] David Alpert: Sleeping Beauty is the spinning wheel.

[39:13] Gilles Chiasson: Oh, right, because the apple is somebody else.

[39:16] Gilles Chiasson: Another principle.

[39:17] David Alpert: So question number three. Much like the biblical tale of Adam and Eve, Snow White should not have eaten this gift from the evil queen turned old hag, for it also knocked her out.

[39:29] Gilles Chiasson: The spinning wheel.

[39:30] David Alpert: No.

[39:32] Gilles Chiasson: Yes, Snow White ate a spinning wheel.

[39:35] Gilles Chiasson: That's right.

[39:36] Gilles Chiasson: Like a donut.

[39:38] David Alpert: Like a donut. Two more for Man with Squeegee Goes Disney. You're doing very well. You're getting all the right answers, a little out of order, but you're getting the right answers.

[39:46] Gilles Chiasson: That's right.

[39:47] Gilles Chiasson: I'm in the ballpark.

[39:48] David Alpert: Or the theme park.

[39:50] Gilles Chiasson: Yes, in the theme park.

[39:51] David Alpert: We should start saying that more often.

[39:53] David Alpert: You're in you're in the theme park.

[39:55] David Alpert: Okay. Number four. In the Cave of Wonders, a young street rat finds the home of the genie, voiced by the incomparable Robin Williams, and then carries this prop around to complete his three wishes.

[40:09] Gilles Chiasson: The lamp.

[40:11] David Alpert: The magic lamp, you are right.

[40:13] Gilles Chiasson: Oh, seriously?

[40:15] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah, the lamp.

[40:16] Gilles Chiasson: I don't know.

[40:16] Gilles Chiasson: I was there was a pause there where I was like, did I get that wrong?

[40:20] David Alpert: Oh, it's just for dramatic effect.

[40:22] Gilles Chiasson: Oh.

[40:23] David Alpert: It's just it's just for drama.

[40:25] Gilles Chiasson: It totally worked on me.

[40:27] David Alpert: Yeah, that's the idea.

[40:28] David Alpert: And our listeners too are just biting their nails.

[40:31] Gilles Chiasson: That's it.

[40:32] Gilles Chiasson: And uh so you're you are kind of four for four. We're gonna accept it.

[40:36] David Alpert: That's right.

[40:38] David Alpert: In the theme park. Uh in the theme park. So our final man with squeegee goes Disney. As a favorite mode of transportation, which item does Mary Poppins carry that allows her to glide through the air with ease?

[40:52] Gilles Chiasson: The umbrella.

[40:54] David Alpert: It is the umbrella.

[40:56] Gilles Chiasson: You did it.

[40:57] Gilles Chiasson: Oh my gosh.

[40:59] David Alpert: And as a special bonus, when Mickey Mouse goes to the gas station, what does he use to clean his car?

[41:07] Gilles Chiasson: I I'm I wanna guess.

[41:09] Gilles Chiasson: You gotta give me a second, I gotta come up with a guess at least.

[41:12] Gilles Chiasson: And it's not a handkerchief.

[41:14] Gilles Chiasson: His shirt.

[41:15] David Alpert: It's actually a squeegee.

[41:17] Gilles Chiasson: Oh, you're thinking ears.

[41:27] David Alpert: It's trivia time!

[41:28] Gilles Chiasson: Oh boy!

[41:31] David Alpert: Jill, here is your moment of trivia. And this one's a little tough, but I'm excited to share this trivia moment with you and our listeners in the world. Walt Disney famously said, I hope we never lose sight of one thing, that it was all started by a mouse. And to this day, Mickey Mouse is one of the world's most recognizable symbols. In 1929, in the animated short The Carnival Kid, Mickey spoke for the very first time. What were Mickey's first words?

[42:02] Gilles Chiasson: Hello!

[42:05] Gilles Chiasson: Was that Julia Child?

[42:07] David Alpert: I I That's right up there.

[42:12] David Alpert: That ranks right up there with my Donald Duck impersonation.

[42:15] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah.

[42:15] Gilles Chiasson: I mean, I'm pulling out all the stops.

[42:18] David Alpert: That Donald Duck impression, you need to, I mean, that's it's pretty good.

[42:21] Gilles Chiasson: I'm taking it on the road.

[42:23] David Alpert: So is that your final answer? A hello in a weirdly British accent?

[42:27] Gilles Chiasson: Yes.

[42:28] Gilles Chiasson: That's all I have to offer.

[42:30] David Alpert: That's incorrect.

[42:31] David Alpert: He actually said hot dogs.

[42:35] Gilles Chiasson: Well, I don't know why I didn't get that.

[42:38] David Alpert: Yeah, I know. That's I mean, if you s if you watch Carnival Kid, it'll make perfect sense because he's got a hot dog's cart.

[42:45] Gilles Chiasson: But who knew that mice like hot dogs?

[42:49] David Alpert: Well, we lived in New York. When I lived in New York, the rats like hot dogs, so yeah, they do.

[42:58] Gilles Chiasson: Now let's hear from some of you.

[43:00] David Alpert: Uh-huh.

[43:07] David Alpert: So Jill, we put on social media any questions for you, and uh we've got some really fun questions coming your way.

[43:12] Gilles Chiasson: Are you serious?

[43:13] David Alpert: Yeah, of course.

[43:14] David Alpert: On Instagram. Yeah, people love you.

[43:16] Gilles Chiasson: Oh wow.

[43:17] Gilles Chiasson: I'm I'm totally pleasantly surprised.

[43:22] David Alpert: That's so nice.

[43:23] David Alpert: Jay Collister asks, who would be the best Disney Parks date from the original cast of Rent, and why?

[43:31] Gilles Chiasson: Um the first person that came to mind was Toby.

[43:37] Gilles Chiasson: Because I just love Toby.

[43:41] Gilles Chiasson: But then but he would be kind of like cynical like me, I think.

[43:46] Gilles Chiasson: So then the other person that comes to mind is Rodney, who is always joyous.

[43:53] Gilles Chiasson: Like Rodney like his joy. And so I think he would be great fun to go with.

[43:58] David Alpert: That's great.

[43:58] David Alpert: But even if you've brought Toby and he was cynical, you could convert him.

[44:02] Gilles Chiasson: That's right.

[44:02] Gilles Chiasson: I would I would throw up on his head.

[44:05] Gilles Chiasson: I would allow him to see the park through my eyes.

[44:08] David Alpert: Yeah.

[44:09] David Alpert: And you're involved.

[44:11] Gilles Chiasson: That's right.

[44:12] Gilles Chiasson: You know, I I I do think the correct answer is Adina Menzel, because you get to go for free.

[44:16] David Alpert: Oh, well, there is that.

[44:18] David Alpert: That is an added bonus.

[44:20] David Alpert: Sam wants to know what is your favorite Disney movie.

[44:23] Gilles Chiasson: Um, does Pixar count?

[44:25] David Alpert: Yes, Pixar counts.

[44:27] Gilles Chiasson: Um in all honesty, my favorite movie is uh Toy Story 3.

[44:35] Gilles Chiasson: Because it's so sad. There is a moment at the end of Toy Story 3 that in my opinion is like one of the most extraordinary pieces of writing that I have ever seen.

[44:46] Gilles Chiasson: So you think about like a movie, in a good movie, you have you know two or three narrative arcs and they come to some conclusion at the end, right? In the moment at the end of Toy Story 3, when the boy delivers the box of toys to that young girl, he's now going to college, he gives him in that moment with no dialogue, there are like 12 narrative arcs that have been developed over the course of three different um uh films, and they all culminate in this singular moment that is both sad and ha it's so complex.

[45:23] Gilles Chiasson: And to have a piece of writing deliver you to a place where all of these narrative stories that you're invested in find a culmination, like a satisfying culmination that you didn't envision and yet can't imagine happening any other way, is genius.

[45:39] Gilles Chiasson: So I think that that, you know, it it's to me it's one of the most successful screenwriting moments I've ever seen.

[45:46] Gilles Chiasson: That moment, that scene is like I was completely blown away by that.

[45:52] David Alpert: So that's my favorite Disney movie.

[45:53] Gilles Chiasson: That's a great answer.

[45:54] David Alpert: Toy Story 3, I think is a great movie.

[45:56] David Alpert: The moment when they're on the they're looking at the incinerator and they're holding each other.

[46:01] Gilles Chiasson: Yeah, it's just so sad and uh but yeah, I'm with you.

[46:04] David Alpert: Great choice.

[46:06] David Alpert: Rebecca asks, what is your favorite piece of Rent history that you own?

[46:14] Gilles Chiasson: I have two rent history that I own. Um so when when Jonathan passed away, um he his friend um had some of Jonathan's possessions and gave them to us as opening night gifts.

[46:31] Gilles Chiasson: And Jonathan had a piggy bank that was filled with all the lucky pennies he found in New York. He saved them, and that was my gift.

[46:42] Gilles Chiasson: And uh, so that's probably uh I mean I have my Roger shoes from when I was the understudy, the boots, because you know I just wear them around the house, but but I think the Jonathan's um uh pig piggy bank with his lucky pennies is that Joe, the next time you go to a Disney park, what's the first thing you're going to do?

[47:12] Gilles Chiasson: Wow, that's a tough question. Because if there's like thousand, there's like a literally like a thousand things you could do. So what what I tend to do is and it depends on who you're with, too. This is not the short answer you're looking for, I'm so sorry.

[47:29] Gilles Chiasson: It's totally fine. It's like you you like I imagine that feeling when you walk in, and there are some people you go with and it's like a mad sprint, so you don't have a long wait for the first ride you want to go, and then there are other people who walk in and they just wanna walk in and experience it.

[47:46] Gilles Chiasson: So and I'm pretty like go with the flow as far as that goes. So I would imagine I I've never been to Epcot Center, and I think that if I were to think about the next time I go to a Disney park, it would be specifically if I could choose, I would go to Epcot and see what that experience is.

[48:05] David Alpert: Yeah. It's a lot of fun things to do in Epcot.

[48:07] David Alpert: Let's go up sure.

[48:08] David Alpert: Jill, thank you so much for joining on E-Ticket to Broadway. It was so fun to connect with you as two boys from Muskegon and talk about your trips to Disney uh and converting to the magic of Disney. Thank you so much for joining.

[48:20] Gilles Chiasson: It is absolutely my pleasure.

[48:24] Gilles Chiasson: And we will see you at the parks.

[48:38] David Alpert: You're a Disney expert.

[48:40] Gilles Chiasson: I am.

[48:41] David Alpert: You know what's funny, Rent and Disneyland, not that different.

[48:44] Gilles Chiasson: How so?

[48:46] Gilles Chiasson: I have nothing.

[48:47] Gilles Chiasson: They're very different.